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Title: THE FINAL DAYS OF A CHECHEN COMMANDER FIGHTING IN UKRAINE. Killed by Russians in Debaltseve.
Source:
https://firstlook.org
URL Source: https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/02/27/isa-munayevs-war/
Published: Feb 27, 2015
Author: MARCIN MAMON
Post Date: 2015-03-21 03:43:54 by Pericles
Keywords: Ukraine
Views: 774
Comments: 9
....snip... Even before he arrived in Ukraine, Munayev was well-known. He fought against Russian forces in both Chechen wars; in the second, he was the commander of the war in Grozny. After the Chechen capital was captured by Russian forces between 1999 and 2000, Munayev and his men took refuge in the mountains. He fought from there until 2005, when he was seriously injured and went to Europe for treatment. Munayev lived in Denmark until 2014. Then war broke out in Ukraine, and he decided it was time to fight the Russians again. As Russian-backed separatist forces began battling Ukrainian forces, Munayev came to Ukraine and established one of what would become several dozen private battalions that sprang up to fight on the side of the Ukrainian government, operating separately from the military. Munayev’s group was called the Dzhokhar Dudayev battalion, named after the first president of independent Chechnya, who was killed by Russian forces in 1996. Munayev was the head of the battalion. He was not at the front in the fall of 2014, because he was busy training forces and organizing money and weapons, from Kiev. An older man in a leather jacket introduced me to Munayev. “Our good brother Khalid recommended this man,” the man said. (Khalid is today one of the most important leaders of the Islamic State. Khalid and Munayev knew each other from years spent fighting together in Chechnya.) Munayev had reason for all the security precautions. Vladimir Putin regarded him as a personal enemy, and so did Ramzan Kadyrov, the Kremlin-friendly leader of Chechnya. Yet once I was inside the apartment, Munayev greeted me like an old friend, and we chatted casually about friends and colleagues we both knew from Chechnya; some were dead, a few still alive. For those looking for an easy narrative in today’s wars, whether in the Middle East or in eastern Ukraine, the Dzhokhar Dudayev battalion is not the place to find it. The battalion is not strictly Muslim, though it includes a number of Muslims from former Soviet republics, including Chechens who have fought on the side of the Islamic State in Syria. It also includes many Ukrainians. But all are fighting against what they perceive to be a common enemy: Russian aggression. ...snip.... A few months later when I returned to Ukraine, in early 2015, Munayev was no longer in Kiev. He was fighting in the east, in the so-called Debaltseve “cauldron,” which had become the center of an intense battle between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists. But Munayev gave permission for Ruslan, a member of his battalion, to take me to his secret base. I was the first journalist allowed to visit the base, and I would end up being the last journalist to see Munayev before his death. ...snip.... About 50 to 60 fighters were in the building, at least half of them Ukrainians, many from the city of Cherkasy. Others came from Chechnya, and the republic of Kabardino-Balkaria in the North Caucasus. There were also Crimean Tatars, Azeris and one Georgian from Batumi. All were there to defend Ukraine against Russia. “I know how much this great nation needs help, and we really want to help them,” Munayev said. Munayev also admitted, however, that he hoped the weapons he got in Ukraine would end up in the hands of militants in the Caucasus. He had a clear goal. “I defend Ukraine and Chechnya,” he told me. “If we succeed in Ukraine, then we can succeed in Chechnya.” In Ukraine, Munayev was seeking revenge for the wrongs that he and his people had suffered. Russians had killed his father, his wife and his children. “These are the enemies who murdered my people, who took my country from me,” he said. “They killed all those who were dear to us. There is no one in Chechnya who hasn’t suffered at the hands of the Russian army.” ...snip... There are three volunteer battalions with a significant number of Muslim fighters operating in Ukraine today (it would be wrong to describe any of the battalions as “Muslim,” since they also include Ukrainians and other nationalities). The Dudayev battalion operates between Donetsk and Luhansk, the Sheikh Mansour battalion, which broke off from the Dudayev battalion, is based close to Mariupol, in the southeast of Ukraine, and in the northeast is the Crimea battalion, based in Krematorsk, which consists mostly of Crimean Tatars. (There is also a separate company of Crimean Tatar fighters that operate as part of a sotnya, a Slavic term for “hundred.”) ...snip... Munayev went to battle for the last time on Jan. 26. He went to Debaltseve, which the separatists took in February following an intense battle that left much of the city in ruins. Before getting into the white armored van that last day, he told me the same thing he told his fighters — that he didn’t know when he would return. “We are going deep behind enemy lines,” he said. “I hope everything will be fine. If we die, at least we die as soldiers, and not as slaves.” Munayev didn’t return. What happened next depends on whom you believe. There are suspicions that his location was betrayed to the Russians. But one of the fighters I spoke with, a Chechen who came to Ukraine with a Turkish passport, does not believe that. According to his account, on Feb. 1 Munayev’s group went to help the volunteer Donbass battalion fighting near Debaltseve. Most of the fighters stayed at the Ukrainian positions, but Munayev took four fighters and went on a scouting mission. He wanted to get to the rear of the enemy. They walked a little over 2 miles into “no man’s land,” between the two sides. They came to a small village called Chernukhino, where they stumbled upon Russian soldiers. There was shooting, and the Chechens killed a few Russians — the rest of the Russians withdrew. The Russians, however, managed to give the village’s coordinates to their artillery, and soon all hell broke loose. At the same time, the assault began on Debaltseve, which was defended by the Ukrainian army, as well as volunteer battalions including Donbass and Dudayev. The five lightly armed Dudayev fighters were attacked by infantry and tanks, and so they fled. They came upon a courtyard, where they saw a building with a shop. Munayev emptied some rounds into the front door and ordered his men to take refuge inside. When the last one entered, there was an explosion. The room filled with clouds of black smoke. When the dust settled, the commander of the militants was lying at the entrance to the building. Munayev had been hit by shrapnel from a tank shell, and had a large gaping wound. Munayev, who had survived two brutal wars in Chechnya, died instantly. He was 49 years old. What happened next is even more controversial. The commander’s body was left on the battlefield, something strictly prohibited by the Chechen honor code. I spoke with a fighter from the Chechen battalion of Sheikh Mansour, which broke away from Munayev’s branch a few months ago. Relations between the two battalions are not good. ...snip...
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#1. To: Pericles (#0)
(Edited)
The death of Munayev will be big news in Russia, a sense of an old score settled at last. LiveLeak had some video: Notice the name on the video splash, translates: Semen Semenchenko. LOL And Kiev organized a funeral where regime puppets could bewail the loss of this known and wanted Chechen terrorist, Munayev.
You might like this very new six-pack of Russian military scenarios for Ukraine from think tank Stratfor.
More Stratfor, 1/28/15. The map of recent fighting in Kiev's Debaltseve salient illuminates what most of the recent fighting has been about. Novorossiya wants to close that gap in their front lines as it represents a classic threat for Kiev to mass forces and attack more deeply inside Novorossiya. A lot of Western reporting in the last few months referred to Debaltseve as no more than a major transit hub for railways and highways. It's real importance currently is strategic. The rebels shored up the weakness in their front lines by taking Debaltseve.
Good run down. Just how far Putin wants to push this is another matter.
"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." (Genesis 1:1)
He has an open palette of options. His latest drills and other moves keeps NATO nervous, forces EU NATO to confront their own weakness and the expense of trying to overcome it while maintaining the self-destructive sanctions on Russia. And with Germany ever more weary of this Ukraine business interfering with their economic growth and ability to sustain the basketcase economies of southern and eastern Europe. In the meantime, Russia's valuation has halted its sanctions-induced plunge and has rallied pretty strongly under the recognition that Russia was undervalued. Also, the inevitable evasion of the sanctions regime has grown, as it always does with the EU's sanctions. They don't like to actually shut off the tap and keep it shut. We've seen this many times as they undermine sanctions against various regimes, like Saddam's Iraq. Vlad can continue to pose a threat to Kiev, rattle a few sabers, make NATO's weakest members tremble, stir up political trouble in western Europe's politics. And he can crush Ukraine's economy at will. Whatever turn events take, Vlad has a good hand to play. In the meantime, he continues to hammer at his objectives with a dull constant cudgeling.
It is amazing how strategic blunders by all sides almost leads to a shooting war with the major powers. The EU stumbled, NATO stumbled, the USA stumbled, Russia stumbled and the Kiev protestors/revolutionaries as did the pro Russian side - they all stumbled. But out of that chaos Russia is the only one that welcomes the chaos as a tool and that is to her advantage.
America didn't stumble. They made the others stumble as they reached an agreement that Yanukovych would serve out his term but cease his efforts at major changes. The problem was already solved, except Nuland/Hitlery didn't like that outcome. America is the one who thrived on the chaos to install a new puppet government. Russia is demonstrating its own ability to be flexible and press its goals more slowly. The Bear generally moves rather slowly unless provoked.
Yet the West may have a wild card Putin is watching closely: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." (Genesis 1:1)
But out of that chaos Russia is the only one that welcomes the chaos as a tool and that is to her advantage. America is the one who thrived on the chaos to install a new puppet government. Russia is demonstrating its own ability to be flexible and press its goals more slowly. The Bear generally moves rather slowly unless provoked. I will re-word what I stated since I stated it badly. I think Russia was able to turn a loss into a win or sour the milk for the West. Russia turned the tables on the West at this stage.
Munayev wasn't the only blow to Kiev at Debalteseve. One of Ukraine's special forces groups was captured as well. This would be like our own 82nd Airborne getting captured. A blow to confidence in the Kiev regime.
#2. To: Pericles (#0)
#3. To: All, Pericles, redleghunter (#2)
#4. To: TooConservative (#2)
#5. To: redleghunter (#4)
Just how far Putin wants to push this is another matter.
#6. To: TooConservative, redleghunter (#5)
(Edited)
#7. To: Pericles (#6)
The EU stumbled, NATO stumbled, the USA stumbled, Russia stumbled and the Kiev protestors/revolutionaries as did the pro Russian side - they all stumbled.
But out of that chaos Russia is the only one that welcomes the chaos as a tool and that is to her advantage.
#8. To: Pericles, Vicomte13, TooConservative (#6)
But out of that chaos Russia is the only one that welcomes the chaos as a tool and that is to her advantage.
#9. To: TooConservative, redleghunter (#7)
The EU stumbled, NATO stumbled, the USA stumbled, Russia stumbled and the Kiev protestors/revolutionaries as did the pro Russian side - they all stumbled. America didn't stumble. They made the others stumble as they reached an agreement that Yanukovych would serve out his term but cease his efforts at major changes. The problem was already solved, except Nuland/Hitlery didn't like that outcome.
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